Who's in Your Sukkah?

Every year, as we decorate the sukkah, I think back to the sukkah of my childhood. Alongside the chains, fake fruit, and other accoutrements, we had a poster entitled “Gedolei Yisrael Rishonim V’Acharonim - The Earlier and Later Great Rabbis of Israel.” It had illustrations of famous rabbis who let an indelible mark on Judaism like Rashi, Rambam, Rabbi Yosef Karo (author of the Shulchan Aruch), and Rabbi Moshe Isserlis (the Rema, primary source for Ashkenazic practice).

We liked to comment on who had the longest beard or most exotic headgear or how did the designer know what any of these rabbis looked like anyway.

Notably, on the bottom row, there were two rabbis separated by a text box: Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chasidic movement, and his primary opponent, the Vilna Gaon. My father would joke that they were so diametrically opposed to each other that even their pictures couldn’t be side by side. I am happy to report than an updated version of the poster has the two great rabbis (smiling) next to each other. There’s peace between the Chasidim and their opponents!

Over the years, other rabbis joined the “classic” greats on my sukkah wall. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and Rav Kook to name a few. These days, our kids add new names and faces to the “Rabbis Wall” of the sukkah.

Sukkot is the holiday of visualizing our spiritual influences.

The most well-known spiritual visitors are the seven Ushpizin, whose presence is meant to elevate our sukkah experience: Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef, and David. We welcome one each night as each represents different aspects of our relationship with God.

This is not just an exercise in imagination. Any spiritual benefit from inviting the Ushpizin is only relevant if we share our holiday with those in need. We are not interested in exalted religious experiences alone. Exalted religious experiences are those we share with others. As Rambam writes, true simchat yom tov, rejoicing on the festival, is only experienced with others. Whether it’s assisting those who need help celebrating or giving someone an emotional boost. That’s true joy.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Judaism recognizes the power of images to inspire. Isaiah (30:20) proclaimed, “Your eyes shall behold your teachers.” The Radvaz notes that seeing one’s Torah teacher creates a mystical connection — a sharing of spiritual energy. We look to be - and do - better by visualizing our spiritual greats. The Midrash teaches that Yosef resisted temptation in Egypt by seeing in his head an image of his father, Yaakov. Even a mental picture is worth a thousand words.

The sukkah is aspirational space. When we invite the ushpizin or hang up pictures of rabbis, we invite not just famous figures but ideals: hospitality, humility, courage, and devotion. Today, we have new ways to visualize that inspiration — not only through imagination, but through photographs and posters. Each face we hang in the sukkah, each role model we “invite in,” reminds us of what we value and who we want to become.

We’re not only inspired by pictures — we can be inspiring pictures ourselves.

The Chafetz Chaim was once returning by train from a rabbinic gathering. At each stop, people crowded train stations just to catch a glimpse of the saintly rabbi. Out of humility, he stayed inside the train — until Rabbi Meir Shapiro urged him otherwise. “Throngs of Jews will have pleasure from seeing you,” he told the Chafetz Chaim. “Aren’t you willing to accept a little discomfort if it brings them joy?”

From then on, the Chafetz Chaim went out to greet the people.

As we enter the sukkah this holiday, let’s look for inspiration – from family, from rabbis, from the heroes of the IDF. In addition to who’s in our sukkah, we should ask ourselves who’s sukkah can we be in. Do we radiate kindness, conviction, and courage that others would want to “invite in?” Are we living in a way that inspires others?

May our sukkot — and our lives — be filled with the presence of those who inspire us, and may we, in turn, become the kind of people whose very image brings light, strength, and joy to others.